Hamas Tunnels, Israeli Determination and Obama-Kerry Wrongheadedness

While Secretary of State John Kerry works with Egypt to try to extend a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, let's examine the root of Israel's need to enter Gaza militarily. The Tunnels. Here is a report published by the Jerusalem Post from interviews with a member of an elite Israeli commando unit operating in Gaza. It outlines Israel's problem. ~~~~~ The elite Israeli unit, Maglan, operates behind enemy lines in Gaza and has attacked dozens of terrorist cells that fired on the IDF, destroyed areas used to launch rockets at Israel, and killed and injured terrorists. The senior unit source described how members have targeted Hamas gunmen waiting to ambush IDF Ground Forces. It has detected and destroyed forward Hamas posts and rocket launchers, detected a cross-border underground attack tunnel leading into Israel from Gaza, and found 20 bomb-laden, booby-trapped homes in Gaza. The unit also uncovered a large quantity of weapons and enemy intelligence files in raids. The source said the unit is operating in a heavily built up area, characterized by residential buildings and tunnels. Hamas has planted its military assets deep inside the fabric of Gazan civilian life, he said. "Hamas operatives and area commanders, as well as their rocket cell members, keep one part of their home for normal family life. A second part of the home is the command center, or the start of a tunnel. Daily life and military infrastructure are totally interwoven. We must overcome the challenge of differentiating between Hamas and the civilian population." The source added that in recent days, demoralization has washed over Hamas's combat battalions. "They simply escape, leaving behind weapons and suicide bomb vests that were laid out for battle. This morning we stormed a position, and they just weren't there. I don't see a determined enemy. We have encountered stronger pockets of fighting in the past. But now, I would not give them a high grade for fighting spirit." The source talked about the Hamas tunnel network that begins a few kilometers away from the Israeli border and passes under the frontier, the source said, in order to enable dozens of terrorists to infiltrate Israel. In response, the IDF has used a wide array of firepower and ground units to tackle the challenge, employing rapid maneuvers to "shatter the enemy and deny it freedom of operation in closed areas, where it is based,We move in as quickly as possible, engage in close combat and prevent the enemy from using its tunnels to enter our territory." He said the Maglan unit has seized large numbers of weapons, suicide bomb belts, and projectile launchers in recent raids. "Hamas has turned tunneling into a national profession. They lean on highly-skilled engineers to do this. We're dealing with all of these threats through close-range combat," the source added. Working with the Artillery Corps, the infantry brigades, and the air force, the source said the Maglan unit is helping to tear apart Hamas's infrastructure. Hamas has built "defensive layers around the tunnels. They have attack positions in mosques, in the homes of operatives, and tunnels that allow terrorists to approach our forces. That requires very accurate and sometimes aggressive counter-measures by us. We understand that if we do not deal with these threats, they will come to our home front. If you talk to members of our unit, it is clear to all of us that we don't take care of this, if we don't destroy these threats and thwart them, they will reach us in a much more aggressive way, and they will harm Israeli civilians and soldiers." Additionally, the source said, it is "impossible" to demolish the threats via long-range firepower. Only a ground offensive that reaches the tunnel shafts can get the job done, he said, adding, "This shows that despite intelligence, there is no alternative to getting there and destroying targets from up close." Hamas has adapted well to Israel's air power by going underground, but "it does not know how to deal with ground units that are storming its assets. We have the upper hand, and this is showing results. I have not entered one civilian home that did not have weapons, suicide belts, or booby traps in it. You can see the booby traps from the outside," the source said. Any home found to be containing women and children leads to an immediate halt of the raid, he added. "We hold our fire, there's no question. We don't take chances with children and women. We allow them to leave, and then continue the raid. That's who we are, and this is the source of our strength," he added. ~~~~~ We might well ask why Israeli technology has not solved the tunnel problem. Yeshiva World News reports that former IDF Major-General Yitzchak Yisrael, a noted expert on the tunnels, told Israeli TV that the IDF has been working for years on addressing the tunnel issue and he is optimistic that in a year to two the development of the solution will be complete. He adds the low tech tunnels pose a problem to countries around the world and they date back to Vietnam and the Korean War, and the US like Israel does not have a definitive solution to this day. ~~~~~ The Washington-based Daily Caller reports that Israel has found tunnels with bomb-rigged shafts located directly under Israeli kindergartens. The intended results are clear - detonation would mean collapse of the buildings and wholesale murder of the little children within them. Sedatives, hypodermics and piles of handcuffs found in tunnel after tunnel clearly indicate Hamas’ intent to abduct Israeli civilians. The Daily Caller comments : " The world yawns at another war crime." Importantly, the tunnel know-how has already spread to Hezbollah, al Qaida, ISIS, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Libya and Lebanon - and to the US-Mexico border areas. Hamas and its jihadist affiliates threaten every Arab state, many South American states, and having joined the Latin drug cartels, even the United States itself. The Daily Caller points out that Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates unprecedentedly support Israel’s efforts to defeat Hamas. ~~~~~ Dear readers, why have Kerry and the Obama administration insisted upon concluding an immediate cease-fire when everyone else seems to know that it would be better to dismantle Hamas? Only the state sponsors of Hamas - Qatar and Turkey - disagree. Qatar is the bankroller. Turkey is the Hamas representative in the West. The tunnels must be found and destroyed not ‘just’ because they constitute a physical danger to Israel and thousands of Israelis. They must be located and destroyed, and Hamas’s capacity to rebuild them eliminated, because the very idea, the capability they represent, makes normal life impossible in many places in the world. And, every Purchase Order for concrete and reinforcing steel probably has an UNRWA stamp on it. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East supplies a lot of what enters Gaza. It has been supporting Palestinian refugees since 1949 - and many critics say it is past time to cut them loose so that they can learn to support themselves and their communities. UNRWA has an annual budget of $1.2 billion, and US taxpayers are its biggest funder - at $239 million. And it was reported that Secretary Kerry, certainly on Obama's order, has offered Hamas an additional $47 million to help address the “humanitarian” situation in Gaza. Isn't it interesting that Obama and Kerry always wrongheadedly find a way to turn conflict into humanitarian payments to the aggressor.